TORONTO, April 27, 2009 – The Catholic Civil Rights League is pleased to announce that its fifth annual Spring dinner will take place June 3 at the University of Toronto. Guest speaker will be Catholic writer and broadcaster Michael Coren, probably Canada’s most knowledgeable and most entertaining voice about media biases concerning religious faith.

The evening will also include the presentation of the Archbishop Exner Award for Catholic Excellence in Public Life. The League instituted the award to honour Archbishop Exner upon his retirement in 2004. It recognizes outstanding leadership in a variety of areas, including education, philanthropy, life issues and social development. Previous winners have included the late Frederick W. Hill, Catholic philanthropist and chairman of the Hill Group of Companies, Jim Hughes, founder of Campaign Life Coalition, Fraser Field, founder of Catholic Educators Resource Centre and Dr. Andrew and Joan Simone, founders of Canadian Food for Children.

Tickets will be available to League members and their guests until May 15, after which any remaining tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis. For further information, e-mail ccrl@ccrl.ca or call 416-466-8244.

About CCRL
 
Catholic Civil Rights League (www.ccrl.ca) assists in creating conditions within which Catholic teachings can be better understood, cooperates with other organizations in defending civil rights in Canada, and opposes defamation and discrimination against Catholics on the basis of their beliefs. CCRL was founded in 1985 as an independent lay organization and has chapters across Canada. The Catholic Civil Rights League is a Canadian non-profit organization entirely supported by the generosity of its members.

For further information: Joanne McGarry, Executive Director, 416-466-8244; joanne.mcgarry@ccrl.ca

* Michael Coren’s new book, As I See It, is available at amazon.com. His website is michaelcoren.com.